The food is good but the service needs much improvement. The first time I went it took about 40 minutes to prepare my food even though the cashier told me it would take 15 minutes. Mind you the place wasn't crowded. There was 1 person in front of me when I arrived who had already placed an order. She seemed a little frustrated because they were taking long with her order. The cashier finally came out with my food when I informed him politely I am on my lunch break and have to get back to work. The cashier informed me next time to call in advance. I ordered okra stew with beef but the cashier came out with okra stew and goat meat instead. I didn't have time to correct the order so I just took it and went to work. I decided to give it another shot but this time I took the cashier advice and called in advance. The lady on the phone informed me again it will only take 15. I arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes later and it was obvious that they did not place the order. I even ask the lady before paying if my order was placed when I called and she responded yes. After waiting another 30 minutes after arriving I ask for my money back when the lady told me my food is ready. It clearly was not ready because I seen the cooked scrambling to get my food ready through the kitchen door window. Atleast this time the order was correct. One last thing they are passively rude but I'm not going into details about that, I'll let you be the judge if you decide to deal with them read more

I found this place on the recommendation of a friend from Nigeria. Although the owners are from Ghana, the food is similar to our food in Nigeria. They do a great job there. I have been frequenting this establishment for over 7 years. The ambience is like stepping into a portal putting you in a bustling business in Accra. The service is quick and very friendly. They sell other things there like drinks (including Ghanaian Malta), suya, and meat pies. They are very generous with their portions especially with meat. My personal favorite is pounded yam with egusi soup. I highly recommend this place whether you are from West Africa looking for a taste of home or just from anywhere ready to try some ethnically diverse food. read more

Rainbow Restaurant is extremely solid all around. As a Ghanaian, I know my Ghanaian grub and Rainbow does justice to all of them. From Jollof rice, plantain, fufu et al. A plus for me is the fact that they have ground nut soup everyday which goes perfectly with my Fufu. My only wish is that if they were closer than Gaithersburg. read more

This is a great authentic African restaurant to try out! Not only do they cater to each and every customer but they make sure that you are well familiarized with the dishes on the menu. I've been to this location several times and they have never disappointed me. I travel 25 mins from my job whenever I'm craving African food and it is worth the drive. read more

I got the Goat Pepper Soup, which is actually Lite/Light Soup unlike the Nigerian Pepper Soup. It was delicious though, and she gave me extra spice on the side that added the extra bang it needed. I ate half of it by itself( cos I'm on a paleo kick right now) for lunch and it filled me up. I'll likely get hungry again in like 2 hrs, so I'll finish it up then. All in all, a good lunch for $11. I'll be back! read more

When we walked in, there was some pretty cool Ghanan music playing; but they changed it shortly thereafter to the TV, which was kind of a bummer. Anyways...pretty humble setup, and rather confusing menu; but definitely tasty food! I had the "Jollof Rice With Stew" and my girlfriend had the Jerk Chicken. I thought both had an awesome taste and were reasonably priced. Rainbow's ambiance isn't anything to call home about, but the food is pretty good and the staff there are pretty friendly. I'll likely visit again! read more

I ordered a jerk chicken meal, suya and Jolof rice, 2 ginger drinks and a Chicken patty from this restaurant . To start the ginger drinks were fresh and tasted amazing. The Chicken was house made. It gave the feel of a Marie calendar pot pie crust stuff with chicken. The Jollof rice was amazing and suya was delicious and spice just as it should be. Unfortunately the jerk chicken had nothing jerk about it. Instead, the "jerk chicken" was in fact served as stew chicken. The stew chicken was good but not what I ordered and when I brought this to the cashier's attention she paid me no mind. Thus, I give this establishment 2 stars, for the passing of a false dish and subpar customer service. read more

Rainbow Restaurant - Stew chicken and rice - African Near Me - Gaithersburg, Maryland

Rainbow Restaurant....an African gem. When we went there (on a weekday evening) it was quiet and the staff was friendly. Customers stopped in and out to pick up their orders and it seemed the neighborhood was undergoing some construction work. I have to say that you get a lot of food at a reasonable price - And- they have an extensive menu catering to a wide West - African population (for those not from Ghana). It will be a good idea, however, to check with the waiter/waitress as to what is available that day. I really would like to go back soon, and am glad I have found another great African restaurant. read more

I was invited to rainbow by Ghanaian co workers a couple of times. I really loved the goat soup with fufu. The fufu just melts in your mouth (chewing it is apparently the wrong method according to my Ghanaian friends). On other occasions I tried the jallof rice with goat stew. This was also very tasty, but as others have mentioned the goat was a bit over cooked. Also as others have mentioned,the servings are colossal. If you are looking for an ambience, you won't find it here. Neither will you find unbiased service. My Ghanaian friends got treated like family. Me? Not so much. If you haven't tried west African cuisine, then you need to try rainbow. On the other hand, I would rather try cooking it myself. read more

This is my third time trying Ghanian food and I thought this place was ok. I tried the jollof rice and beef stew and while they gave a huge pile of rice, I thought they skimped out on the beef. It was seasoned pretty well and tasted ok. I also tried the ghanian oxtails and that was average. Some of the oxtails were dry and overcooked. I don't think I'm a good judge of ghanian food but I thought the other places I've tried was better but this place is not bad. read more

I was told to check the Rainbow Restaurant out because they would have hot and spicy food. The dishes don't actually seem very spicy, but they do offer a very good, hot sauce as a side dish. The portion sizes turned out to be huge! And the food was really very good! The decor is uninspiring. If anything, it is kind of discouraging. But don't be put off by that. The food is great! read more

Rude interaction. Ended up being ignored for the person behind me and never had a chance to even order food.

Order ahead of time. They are very accommodating with orders! Waste is my favorite just wish the stew tasted more like waste stew and not just regular stew! read more

Just came from there and had such a lovely time with our family! We are stuffed and happy. Don't skip the home made ginger juice, it goes perfectly with the heavy comfort food. I'd definitely go again just to try out more from the menus. read more

I never knew about this restaurant being in Gaithersburg until I googled oxtail yesterday. I looked at reviews and decided to try. I'm glad I did. Gentleman at counter was very polite and customer friendly. He gave me some sweet funny bread dough to try. Delicious. Beef on a stick was spicy and good. Oxtail with jollof rice was so good. Jollof rice was very spicy. No complaints because I LOVE spicy food. He asked if I want Ghanaian oxtails it Jamaican - I went for Jamaican. Next trip I try Ghanaian. And he said he'll let me try fufu with peanut soup next visit. He told as he noticed my disability that he knew of company who would deliver to me. I enjoyed my experience. My friend who ordered with me told me he liked their oxtail better than Island Pride and other Jamaican spot in Rockville. Me too read more

This is my go to restaurant when I'm off and don't feel like cooking. I have only had a few dishes here. The husband and wife team are nice and friendly. The african cuisine, great! My favorite to date is the Spinach Egusi, love this dish so much that I vowed to teach myself how to make it. I'm almost there. read more

My family from Sierra Leone and we have the best jollof rice . But i love rainbows suya their jollof is good too tho

African & Ghanian in Gaithersburg! It's hard for me to imagine after coming to Old Town Gaithersburg to eat & shop for so many years, a little corner restaurant/carry-out place has been hidden from my view & smell! (and it's directly across from the train station!) The first time I heard of Rainbow was last Summer during The Taste of Gaithersburg. Rainbow had a booth there and I was so happy to see an African place here! I have gone to Langley Park to get market foods and African spices but never knew I had one so close to home. Being vegetarian, I still had options and the beans & rice, spinach with some kind of tomato hot sauce (the BEST way I have ever eaten spinach in my life & has resulted in cravings galore!) and fried plantains were the choice of the day. All the dishes were prepared to order and the owner had cool jazz going during the lunch time. so cool was it in fact, we found out the cd he was playing and went on-line and bought it after we returned to our offices! If you've never tried African/Ghanian food, then now is your time to try. The owners & staff are very helpful if you have questions and you can even rent dvd's if you like. Overall I really like the place and have gone back a least 3 times now. It's definitely a "carry-out" atmosphere but they do have tables for dining. Try stepping back a little in time to a far off place, listen to the music and try some hot & spicy food from half way around the world. The spices are like none other than you have had, unless you've had African food before. This American of Italian descent, loves it as much as I love Middle Eastern, Asian & Indian. Hum, lunch again this week, yeah, I must have that spinach again! read more

It kind of took sometime for someone to come to the front and take my order. They were nice and friendly. I order the fufu and goat, it was pretty good (a nice hint of spiciness). You may be wondering why I give them 2 stars...well right after eating my food I ended up vomiting profusely ( I felt like I was dying) my body didn't want any of it in my system. I'm not sure if their food is contaminated or if I reacted to one of the ingredients but considering I have no allergies I'll go ahead and say their food may be contaminated. Anyway it was great to eat but I later suffered. read more

This place must have fallen off because my experience was nothing like the reviews I read. I ordered the jollof rice with fish stew kelewele and beef kabob. First, You could tell that everything was very old. Second, the flavor was just not there. I made sure to ask the gentleman if the kabob was beef and he said yes that it was. I purchased and in the first bite learned that it was actually organ meat! I was very disappointed in this spot. As a Ghanaian girl, I'll just have to drive into DC for my Ghanaian food fix because Rainbows is absolutely horrible! read more

Very friendly owner. We arrived just at closing time and they still served us with a smile. Unlike other African restaurants they seemed to have everything on the menu. I had the attieke with tilapia, my husband had the fufu with goat, mom had the oxtail with jollof. We liked it all. read more

Where to start? I love ethnic food and always like to try something new, and this restaurant was a new experience for me, my wife, daughter and her friend. First, let me say the restaurant, while small, was impeccably clean and the service was top notch. Not being experienced with West African food, we ordered four different dishes - Rice with Spinach and Egusi; Jerk Chicken with Rice; Eba with Rice and Spinach; and Jollof Rice with Stew. The second point I'll make - the portions are HUGE and one dish can easily serve 2-3 people. Each of us took home more than half our food. As for the food itself . . . by no means not good, but like Ethiopian food (the only other African food I'm familiar with), once every couple of years will suffice. I'd give the food 2 1/2 stars, but only because it isn't quite to my taste. I think if one likes African food, they would love this place. read more

This is the worst service I've ever experienced. I called and placed my order. The lady told me 15-20 mins. I get there about 30 minutes later and my food is not done. They have no sense of urgency to take care of their customers. I do not recommend this place to anyone. read more

Being African, I 'am very particular and can be harsh on African establishments, since alot of them (I feel) don't really step up to the plate with it comes to their businesses(customer service, maximizing the potential, etc...). Rainbow has stepped up (Some what!), it has good food (mostly from the West african region), good portions, tastefull, seasoning is on point, flat screen tv, flexible with your order, good wait time. My only complaint is their prices, I think that they are a little steep ( Intentional...I think!), but that's what happens when competion is lacking (You price as you please and smile all the way to the bank, hahaha), as your only option for another descent African restaurant would be to head to Silver Spring or PG County. Overall, it's a good place to get food if you're hungry and are in need of some good African grub.....you won't regret it! read more

After a very disappointing experience at Ghana cafe in DC, I was surprised to find Rainbow restaurant through a google search. I decided to give it a try and it was spectacular. If you want to experience authentic Ghanaian cuisine, this is the place to go (they also have some other African and Caribbean dishes on the menu). It was so good, I ordered from there twice in the last 3 days. I have tried the waakye with shito and fish and jollof rice with plantains and meat and both dishes were scrumptious!! It is a little bit out of way but definitely worth the drive. Another plus is that the owner is very friendly and accommodating. read more

Don't do it to yourself. I ordered Banku and Tilapia and the fish was so hard and tasteless she must have microwaved it a few times. I have never had fish meat taste so hard, and no it wasnt fried. The shito was burnt, definitely burnt. GROSS read more

My first visit took place this past Saturday. The food was delicious. I had the oxtails and my friend had the stewed tilapia. He inhaled his food. Everyone was polite and friendly. read more

This is a takeout place to be sure, so the atmosphere is non existent. The service was terrible, a woman at the counter watching the television LOUDLY the entire time. I'd love to tell you that the food saves the place but things were dried out, tough, and either too bland or too spicy. As this is a cuisine that a lot of people don't have exposure to, I'd love it if this place did a buffet so I could try more stuff. They need to get their act together. read more

I agree the food is okay but service sucks and if u don't watch your receipt the will charge u more if u use your credit card....they also make u spend $10 to use your card....they charge $5.00 for one thing of fufu but when they ring it up it says 1 is 2.50....then when u call they try to play u for a fool..... read more

Its ok for just trying west african i suppose. I ordered take out. we had the spicy spinach dish (very VERY oily)---it was tasty but they could use way less oil. ox tail...very flavorful and tasty jollof rice (rice with tomato sauce)...it was ok---wish it had more spices. kebab--it was basically stewed beef- dried out and put on a stick.... not good. read more

Came to Gaithersburg to visit family and wanted some ethnic food. I must say this is one of the finest of African cuisines. We took home three different dishes and boy, were we glad we did. read more

Y'all literally do not know how to make jerk chicken. I saw y'all literally just take out the chicken from the soup and serve it to me... are you serious? I know I didn't say anything........ but. And the jollof rice must've made by Nigerians because it was awful. Awful! Also we waited OVER AN HOUR for three plates (it was cold). The store wasn't even busy... are y'all DUMBBBBBB? read more

They messed up my first order. But attempted to fix it. Food was ok.

I live in Baltimore, but sometimes have to work out in Montgomery County, which I used to hate. Now I look forward to it, because I make it a point to eat at Rainbow every time. We don't have great West African food in Baltimore, so this place is a treat. read more

Best West African Food in the States. I've tried many restaurants but Rainbow never disappoints. Whenever I visit the DC area I always make a trip to Rainbow African Restaurant. What a pleasure to be in a great atmosphere with great people and great food. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner and you can tell why the food is so good. He and his wife along with staff go the extra mile to make these foods delicious and worth the trip. You can tell the pride that goes into each and every dish. If you are in the DC area I promise you will not be disappointed. read more

I have never tried African food prior to visiting Rainbow, but I knew I was in excellent hands when I came with friends that recommended this place. I trusted their judgment because a) they have been to many African restaurants and this is their top pick, and b) one is from Ghana and the other is from Nigeria. I ordered their 24, which was tilapia with attieke. Attieke reminds me of couscous. If you never had African food like me, I would suggest you get something else. The tilapia was very dry and everything, including the attieke, was spicy. It also was garnished with a crazy amount of onion, which made the dish look unappetizing. What added stars to this review was the Ghanaian style oxtail! Mmm... I would come back for that! The oxtail came in a nicely seasoned tomato stew and a side salad, and it was delicious! The service was slow but my African friends said that the service brought them back to home, so coming here was like being in Africa, as I was told. The lady was really nice and the menu has a nice variety. read more

Amazing food and an awesome owner and wife. My company was having a multicultural day and I was too ill to cook so I looked to Rainbow Restaurant 2 days prior to cater the event for me. They were so helpful! I got a good deal on jollof rice, beef stew, chicken stew, plantains, pepper sauce, chicken suya and beef suya for about 20 people. Since it was a tasting, I was able to feed over 50 individuals at the festival! I got all good compliments for the dishes provided by Rainbow. I also had some of their banku, tilapia, kilewile, and pepper sauce for dinner which were all really good. "Mr. Rainbow" himself threw in a chicken and beef suya for free for myself and my husband! My one wish was that the tilapia was a bit bigger because I was enjoying it too much and before I knew it all was left was the fish head! I plan to go here for lunch a couple times because their menu is devine. I was also told by the owner that they are going to add a lunch special soon! I can't wait!!!! There are not too many African restaurants in the Gaithersburg/Germantown area so its good that there is a good representation of our amazing cuisines! read more

Well seasoned food, small but clean restaurant. Friendly staff and gracious owners. This is our family go to on lazy days lol!

delicious food,i must say.......buh i was given both fresh and spoilt meat,dt not nice at all